Interstate 20/59 North reopening in Bessemer likely to be delayed

Construction continues on the $9.5 million Alabama Department of Transportation project to repave Interstate 20/59 in the Bessemer area, Friday, April 6, 2012. The project is using a construction method called rubblization to crush the original concrete roadway as a base for the new asphalt lanes. The new lanes will be 18 inches higher than before. (The Birmingham News/Tamika Moore)

ALDOT spokeswoman Linda Crockett said Dunn Contractors informed her the lanes between the Academy Drive and 19th Street exits will remain closed, but she was not sure what exactly caused the delay or how much longer the lanes will remain closed.

The closing -- due to a $9.5 million paving project -- has diverted the 50,000 vehicles that normally travel through the area each day and has resulted in heavy traffic on Bessemer Superhighway. Birmingham-bound drivers have been encouraged to take I-459 to I-65.

Dunn will begin work on the southbound lanes after the northbound lanes are repaved, Crockett said. That work is expected to last 35 days and had been slated to start on May 12 prior to today's announced delay. It was not immediately clear tonight if that start date has changed.

The work was necessary because the heavily traveled stretch of interstate was frequently damaged and potholes were constantly being patched, ALDOT has said.

The interstate many years ago was paved with 8-inch concrete slabs reinforced with steel. Prior to that method becoming popular in the 1970s, interstates were typically paved with 11-inch-thick concrete slabs.